The closest I have come to people asking me what color the camera is have been a few idiots who asked if it was color or black and white.

I let an intern look through the reflex viewfinder of a Arri 35mm motion picture camera once, on set. He commented that it was the best color viewfinder image he had ever seen, even better than his Panasonic camcorder. He was confused to learn that it was optical, not electronic. It was kinda funny(but does point out that some film schools are seriously lacking)

Oh, and an Arriflex BL IVs with a nice Zeiss T1.3 super speed, now thats' sexy!

Jason, a propos of the Arri, I suppose one attribute of professional-grade equipment is that it is so expensive that owning it makes sense only for rental houses.

Cheers,

Dan

I do own and SRII (16mm-Arri for the non cine) that has been a good investment, and it is certainly professional grade, but as far as 35 goes, I agree, except maybe a "crash or grab" camera or two. (Custom Eyemo or some such)

Hei, guys. There ARE reasons for favoring "black", both in cameras and in wardrobe. For one, the image of the photographer is less apparent in the reflections from window glass while wearing black. More than once I have used my black raincoat or whatever to drape over a bright orange sign and eliminate its reflection from a composition.

Also, a black camera, slung over one shoulder, against black clothing is the least conspicuous. Effective camouflage for street photography.

And, yes, my 'Blads are black, and I'll fondle them if I want to. I call that 'exercising the shutters'.

I let an intern look through the reflex viewfinder of a Arri 35mm motion picture camera once, on set. He commented that it was the best color viewfinder image he had ever seen, even better than his Panasonic camcorder. He was confused to learn that it was optical, not electronic. It was kinda funny(but does point out that some film schools are seriously lacking)

Oh, and an Arriflex BL IVs with a nice Zeiss T1.3 super speed, now thats' sexy!

Had a similar experience with the Maxwell viewfinder on my Yashicamat, a kid thought it was an LCD and that the camera was digital.